Michael Rehm - (916) 233-7346

Sacramento has a pedestrian safety problem.  According to the City of Sacramento's own Vision Zero data, more than five people are killed or seriously injured on Sacramento roads every single week. Pedestrians and cyclists make up roughly one in eight trips in this city — and nearly one in two fatal crashes. Those are not proportionate numbers. They reflect something the city itself has acknowledged: Sacramento's streets, particularly a small set of high-injury corridors, are genuinely dangerous for anyone on foot.

Sacramento ranks fourth worst among California's 15 largest cities for pedestrian victims, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety 2023 crash rankings. The Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom metro area ranks 20th most dangerous in the United States for pedestrians, according to the Dangerous by Design 2024 report from Smart Growth America. The city's own per capita traffic fatality rate exceeds Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland. If you or a family member was struck by a vehicle in Sacramento, this is the context in which that happened.

No fee unless you recover. Attorney Michael Rehm handles Sacramento pedestrian accident cases on a contingency fee basis. Call (916) 233-7346 for a free consultation — available for home visits, hospital visits, and office appointments at his University Avenue office.

Sacramento's Most Dangerous Streets for Pedestrians

The City of Sacramento has identified a High Injury Network — a small fraction of streets that account for up to 70% of serious and fatal crashes citywide. Five corridors top the city's official priority list:

• Marysville Boulevard (North Avenue to Arcade Boulevard)
• El Camino Avenue (Del Paso Boulevard to the Steelhead Creek levee trail)
• Broadway / Stockton Boulevard (Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd to 13th Avenue)
• South Stockton Boulevard (McMahon Drive to Patterson Way)
• Florin Road (24th Street to Munson Way)

In February 2026, the Sacramento City Council authorized the first phase of Quick Build improvements on Marysville Boulevard — high-visibility crosswalks and protected bike lanes between Los Robles Boulevard and Harris Avenue. The city has also approved corridor safety plans for Norwood Avenue (planning estimate: $91 million) and Howe Avenue (planning estimate: $48.8 million). Community workshops are underway for Fruitridge Road and Arden-Auburn, both corridors with documented histories of pedestrian fatalities. More on the current state of Sacramento's Vision Zero program can be found at VisionZeroSac.org.

Three intersections in Sacramento each recorded four KSI (killed or seriously injured) collisions in the city's historical data: Stockton Boulevard at Broadway, Stockton Boulevard at Lemon Hill Avenue, and Stockton Boulevard at 47th Avenue/Elder Creek Road. Citywide, 612 intersections have been identified as needing urgent safety improvements.

The gap between what has been identified and what has been funded is significant. When a pedestrian is struck at a known dangerous intersection or on a corridor the city has long acknowledged as high-risk, that history becomes relevant to the legal claim.

Why Pedestrian Accidents Happen in Sacramento

The city's Vision Zero crash dashboard, covering a decade of data, identifies the top contributing factors in severe and fatal crashes: driving at unsafe speed (15%), impaired driving (13%), failure to obey signs and signals (12%), and failure to yield (11%). In pedestrian cases specifically, failure to yield at intersections and crosswalks is among the most common causes of injury.

Sacramento's downtown and midtown neighborhoods have the highest concentration of DUI-related crashes in the city, according to the city's own crash dashboard — the same neighborhoods where pedestrian foot traffic is heaviest. According to UC Berkeley SafeTREC research, approximately 38% of pedestrian and cyclist deaths in Sacramento between 2020 and 2024 involved a driver who fled the scene. Sacramento ranks third highest for the fatal hit-and-run rate among California's ten largest cities by population, behind only Los Angeles and Oakland.

Tule fog adds a seasonal layer of danger unique to the Sacramento Valley. The stretch of Highway 99 south of Sacramento has recorded more fog-related fatalities than any other roadway in the United States. Dense Fog Advisories in the Sacramento Valley run regularly from November through March. Pedestrians walking near high-speed roadways during fog conditions face compounded risk.

Nighttime and weekend hours are the most dangerous. Sacramento pedestrian crashes peak on Saturday evenings between 9 PM and midnight — consistent with the city's DUI concentration data.

If the Driver Fled the Scene

Hit-and-run pedestrian accidents present a specific legal challenge: the at-fault driver may never be identified. That does not necessarily mean there is no recovery. Under California Insurance Code section 11580.2, uninsured motorist coverage — which every California auto policy is required to carry unless waived in writing — extends to hit-and-run collisions. If you were struck by an unidentified driver, your own auto insurance policy (or a household member's policy) may be the source of recovery.

This coverage is often overlooked because pedestrian victims are not thinking about their own auto policy when they are injured on foot. The claim process, coverage disputes with your own insurer, and the arbitration procedures under California's uninsured motorist statutes have real procedural complexity. Sacramento County Superior Court has its own local rules governing uninsured motorist cases, including Local Rule 2.49, which requires a specific local form and a 75-day deadline to respond to a written demand from your insurer. Missing that deadline creates problems.

When the Government May Be Responsible

Not every pedestrian accident is solely the fault of the driver. When a person is struck at an intersection the city has repeatedly identified as dangerous, at a crosswalk with inadequate visibility, or on a corridor that has been on the High Injury Network for years without funded improvements, there may be a claim against the City of Sacramento or another government entity for dangerous condition of public property under Government Code section 835.

Government entity claims in California carry strict procedural requirements. Under the California Tort Claims Act (Government Code section 911.2 and section 945.4), you must file a government tort claim before filing a lawsuit. The deadline is six months from the date of injury — not two years, which is the general personal injury statute of limitations. Missing that deadline bars your claim against the government regardless of how strong the underlying facts are.

The city's own documentation — Vision Zero reports, High Injury Network designations, funded and unfunded improvement plans, city council meeting minutes — is relevant evidence in a dangerous condition case. Sacramento's documented practice of identifying hazardous intersections while citing funding gaps does not eliminate its liability. The Freeport Boulevard case resulted in an $11 million settlement after a child suffered brain damage and his grandmother was killed at an intersection the city acknowledged was dangerous, and which remained physically unchanged for years afterward.

What a Pedestrian Accident Claim Can Include

Pedestrian accident claims can seek recovery for economic and non-economic losses. Economic damages include past and future medical bills, rehabilitation costs, lost wages, and lost earning capacity. Non-economic damages cover pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and the long-term impact on daily life in cases involving permanent injury.

California does not cap non-economic damages in personal injury cases outside of medical malpractice. In cases involving alcohol-impaired drivers, reckless speed, or other conduct meeting the standard of malice, oppression, or fraud under Civil Code section 3294, punitive damages may also be available. Punitive damages are designed to punish the defendant and are calculated with reference to the defendant's financial condition.

In wrongful death cases — when a pedestrian is killed — California law provides a separate cause of action for surviving family members under Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60. Recovery can include the financial support the deceased would have provided and the loss of love, companionship, comfort, and guidance.

The People Behind the Statistics

According to UC Berkeley TIMS data, more than 265 people walking or cycling have been killed by vehicles within Sacramento city limits since the Vision Zero zero-death pledge was made in 2017. The goal was zero deaths by 2027. The trend is going the wrong direction.

Attorney Michael Rehm handles pedestrian accident cases throughout Sacramento County on a contingency fee basis. No fee without a recovery. Call (916) 233-7346 for a free consultation — office visits, home visits, and hospital visits available.